Republican efforts to kill Obamacare with repeal bills are amounting to nothing, but it's not for want of support from America's most strident news outlet.
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Fox News has always been strong on self-parody. While the Murdoch-owned cable outlet’s aggressively pro-Republican stance has been notorious for years, it has always employed the slogan ‘fair and balanced’, and called on its viewers to “say no to biased media, and yes to fair play and free speech” upon launching a new website in 2009.
Fox’s latest gem is truly worthy of abridged transcription. In the days and weeks after the Supreme Court upheld Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms, the Republican-held House of Representatives has attempted to repeal the legislation on more than thirty occasions, most recently on Wednesday. Since the Democrats hold the Senate, each attempt has come to nought.
Yesterday, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan – possibly the closest the GOP has to a policy wonk – appeared on Fox’s early morning show, anchored by Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson. Ryan’s goal was to remind viewers that November’s elections represent their last chance to kill ‘Obamacare’.
What followed, with the two anchors competing to out-bias one another, was pure hilarity:
Some highlights:
Responding to Ryan’s contention that “if Congress knew then was Congress knows now, this law would never have passed”, Doocy soliloquied thus:
“Something the President of the United States is not going to talk about out on the stump is his signature achievement, and that’s passing healthcare, because it is wildly unpopular by a majority of people in this country. And instead, since he can’t run on his record, he’s got to throw stuff out like the ‘War on Women’ and the dog stuff…and now, once again, it’s that class warfare thing where he wants to jack up taxes on the most successful people in the country, the small businesses, the job creators, even though he knows there is no chance it’s going to pass.”
Subsequently, Carlson chipped in:
“[Obama’s] hoping that voters do not read the fine print when they put out some of these headline statements, and then the retractions come at the bottom of the page a short time later.”
• ‘Obamacare’ judgement: A good day for America 29 Jun 2012
• Supreme Court ‘Obamacare’ judgement: Where does it leave America now? 28 Jun 2012
• If Britons elected the US president, it’d be a landslide for Obama 13 Jun 2012
• Super Tuesday continues Republican death spiral towards November presidential elections 7 Mar 2012
• Obama’s playing against a weak field, but it’ll never be as bad as last time 21 Feb 2012
Ultimately, Doocy took the Krispy Kreme biscuit with this loaded question of loaded questions:
“Congressman, do you sometimes feel that you went to Washington to change things, get stuff done, and now you guys are just spinning your wheels, because you pass bills – you repealed Obamacare yesterday – you send it over to Harry Reid, and he’s got a big pile of stuff you already sent him. He’s not going to do a darn thing with it.”
Fox News: Fair and balanced.
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34 Responses to “Fox News: Fair and balanced (occasional series)”
Anonymous
What absolute rot. The BBC’s bias on the Palestinian issue, for example, is well documented.
They’ve mostly been *useless* on cuts…
Selohesra
So the BBC of
– Stephanie “2 Eds” Flanders
– Trotskyite anti cuts strike leader Paul Mason who opines on the economics of addressing the deficit
_ Jim ” ” if we win the next election” – to Ed Balls” Naughtie
Is not left wing enough for you – perhaps not as it depends how off the scale you are – but if you are suggesting they are not all of the left then you must be smoking the same stuff as Newsbot most of the time
Alexander Wallace
And Andrew Neil? And Nick Robinson? The BBC, as most sensible people admit, encompasses a range of opinion and political colour. Any and every debate and news story is painfully infused with every side – just watch Question Time if you don’t believe me: anyone trying to use that forum to dominate from either left or right is given short shrift. It seems you’re the one intolerant of any opinion other than your own. Get a grip, please.
Alexander Wallace
Show me the news reports and debates and analyses. I’ve only ever seen the issue presented with equal input from all sides. Maybe I’m watching a different BBC… Or maybe I’m just watching with an unblinkered mind and don’t foam at the mouth whenever an opinion I don’t agree with is given any air time.
Alexander Wallace
Oh BTW the list goes on and on re right-leaning individuals who work, or have worked, for the BBC – viz Boris Johnson’s spin doctor, for example. Still, carry on – “British Broadcasting Corporation? More like British Broadcasting COMMUNISM!” and so on.